When You Can't Spell Cliche
by The one and only Kanra-chan
Summary: "H-hmmph! Go die, shizu-chan!" "What the fuck is wrong with you." Shizuo finds himself thrown into a world were he's again in highschool, again a teenager, and Izaya is tsundere. Somehow, that changes everything Shizuo's ever known. Things are darker than they seem, and it's up to Shizuo to figure out what to do in this crazy new world.
1. Wtf Flea

A teen walks down the streets of Ikebukero, bright blonde hair illuminated by the early morning sun. His blue school uniform is fresh and newly bought, first worn today. It's early spring and it's time for the new school year to start here in beautiful Japan. Birds chip and humans walk, and lingering winter chill still clings to the air.

'Fuckin hell.

Eager faces all around, high schoolers like the one of our story are chattering as they walk, likely about what wonders and frights await them on their new highschool journey. It's an inspiring sight, and a hopeful one too. These are the faces of the future, truly.

 _Fuckin' hell_!

A pigtailed school girl runs, she's late! She's holding her open bag in her arms, the bag is open and full. Surely not smart but she didn't have time to close it! She rounds a corner, and bam! She collides with a boy, the boy of our story, who was walking in the opposite direction to which she was running. The girl's things scatter to the ground, and she gathers them quickly before turning on her heel to give this boy a piece of her mind!

"FUCKING HELL!" Shizuo Heiwajima shouts. His expression is murderous, though in reality he hasn't even noticed the girl. She squeaks, recognizing the infamous young teen! That's Heiwajima Shizuo! The strongest and angriest boy in Ikebukero! She runs around him, and is gone from our story for good. Yaoi is once again safe.

"I'm a grown fucking man! Why the fucking hell am I back here again?! Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit dammit! When I find whoever did this i'll-oh, I'm here."

Intimidating as ever, Raira Academy stands proud before Shizuo Heiwajima, and he reluctantly walks past the gates towards the building. Looking around, Shizuo vaguely recognizes some of the faces, but he can't put any names to them. ' _I should find Shinra_ ' He thinks. ' _Maybe he can do something about this. Whatever this is, I have no idea how this even happened. Everything was normal yesterday! Where are you Kishitani?!'_

He wanders around, checks his phone, tries calling the nerdy boy even, but school is about to start, and his friend is nowhere to be found. In fact, neither is Kyouhei or Tom.

The bell rings, and he makes his way inside. He luckily remembers where his homeroom class is, his feet carrying him there with no hesitance.

Everyone is seated when he arrives, and the teacher gives him an angry stare. Already off to a bad start... Wonderful.

He takes his seat, and looks around. No Shinra, damn. No Kyouhei either, fuck! And Tom is probably still in a higher grade too... Is Shizuo all alone this time in this hellhole?

He notices someone staring from the corner of his eye.

Cold, rusty red eyes bore into his. Izaya is staring at him, teenage Izaya, with none of his usual mirth. He looks bored, and it's not long before Izaya looks away to observe the other students. ' _Izaya's here!'_ Shizuo thinks, relieved for a moment.

' _Is he in the same situation I am? Or is he actually the teen Izaya I knew in highschool?_ ' Shizuo stares hard at the boy as the teacher drones on, calling names.

"Daisuki Suno-kun?"

"Here."

"Furinko Ranko-san?"

"Here!"

"Hoshina Yuki-kun?"

"Here."

"Heiwajima Shizuo-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm here."

"Ianako nanako-san?"

"Here."

"Lelo-Lelouch V Brittania? You're in the wrong place."

"Sorry, same voice actor!"

"Kuriki Akako-kun?"

"Here..."

"Murasaki Nao-san?"

"Here!"

"Tori Raku-san?"

"Here~"

"Orihara Izaya-kun?"

"Present."

She runs though the rest of her list, and briefs them on school rules and what's expected of them. After a small pep talk, she tells them to gather their things and head to the next class. She warns that they'll likely be doing real work then. Shizuo quickly catches up to Izaya.

"Hey, fl-Izaya-kun!"

Izaya turned, surprised.

"My, you're awfully informal. Who said you could use my first name?" Izaya asked, cold.

"Shuddup. Where's Shinra?"

"Pardon?"

"Shinra! Where is he?"

"Why are you asking me?" Izaya snapped, annoyed. He looked overly irritated, not at all amused like Shizuo knew him to constantly be.

"'Cause you two are friends, obviously! Just tell me what class he's in!"

Izaya's eyes widened, before his expression quickly grew dark and closed off. He pointedly looked away from Shizuo.

"Tch! Class B. But we aren't friends, so get that idea out of your little blonde head right now! And don't approach me again!" Izaya snapped, and started walking away. He was fast as ever, already rounding the corner by the time Shizuo recovered enough to reply.

"Well, good! I didn't want to anyway! Fuck, what is his problem?!" Annoyed, Shizuo went to find class B, wondering just what in hell he got himself into.

"FuuuUUCKING HELL!"


	2. Wtf Cellphone

"Shinra!" Shizuo yelled, barging into what he was pretty sure was Class B's homeroom. Eyes all turned to him, but unfortunately none of them were Shinra's.

"Young man!" The teacher exclaimed, getting Shizuo's attention.

"Why aren't you in your own class?" Everyone here was already seated and apparently all the names had been called.

"Uh.. Sorry.. Wrong room."

"Get to the right one, then. Do you need direction?"

"No ma'am." Shizuo mumbled, quickly retreating out the door and down the hall. ' _Well shit, what now? Do I keep wandering around 'till I find the right room? Did Izaya lie earlier to piss me off or do I have the wrong class? Fuck!_ ' Shizuo sighed to himself, wondering what to do. _"I guess I could try calling Shinra again...'_ Digging around in his school pants, it only took Shizuo a moment to locate the slim object.

He went to his texts to see if Shinra had replied,when he noticed none of his texts had gone through. "What? Shit, no service... of course. I should probably try the roof..." He sighed again,heading towards the stairway. He fiddled with his cell on the way, He'd called Shinra fine earlier, right? The boy didn't pick up but it still worked-

' _No wait, it had gone straight to voice mail earlier. Shit!_ ' Reaching the rooftop, he walked around the large empty space, holding the device up. No matter how high he held it or where on the roof he went, there was still no signal.

"Tch, annoying." Shizuo muttered. He heard the sound of light footsteps behind him, and a moment later came a surprised voice. ' _Ugh, what_ _now?'_

"What _is_ that that thing?" Asked a familiar voice. Shizuo turned, and there stood Izaya, eyes fixed on Shizuo's cellphone. Izaya walked forward, close to the cell, as if trying to inspect it.

"What are you talking about? It's just my cell phone." Shizuo replied, already annoyed. ' _He was such an asshole earlier, I kinda wanna punch him.'_

Shizuo was looking down at the flea, who in turn scoffed up at him, bright eyes briefly looking at him skeptically. ' _Man, forgot I was this much taller than him in highschool..._ '

"What do you mean it's a _cellphone_? I've never seen any cellphone like that!" Izaya exclaimed. He didn't seem angry or cold like earlier, just unbearably curious about Shizuo's cellphone.

"Aren't you always fiddling with, like, three of them?" Shizuo asked. Izaya's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he ignored the comment, instead moving around Shizuo to get a closer look. _What the fuc...OH shit!'_ That's when something clicked in Shizuo's head. His cellphone. His cellphone! It was modern, no! It was from the future, like him! The cellphones from when he was in highschool were those blocky ones that were just good for calls, no wonder his texts weren't going through! Did it even work now? Why did it even come with him?

"Can I see it? Where'd you even get that?" Izaya asked, enthusiastically, not unlike a child wanting another's toy. He easily slipped it from Shizuo's fingers and started to mess with Shizuo's cellphone.

"Hey!" Shizuo snapped, but was ignored in favor of the futuristic device.

"Where's the keyboard? Oh, hey! **You touch the screen?** Whoa, and what's with this format!? What's an _emoji_? Oh, little pictures! What are all these things? You can change the brightness!? What!? What do the little squares do? What's 'Angry birds' huh? What... What. A _game? These graphics! Incredible!"_ Izaya's fingers were flying over the screen of Shizuo's phone, his rusty red eyes practically glowing with excitement.

Shizuo paused, staring at him. They'd never really talked before, even in highschool. Either they'd mostly ignore each other when they were with Shinra and Kadota, or in class, or they were fighting. Seeing Izaya like this, so amazed by something he'd know well in the future, was surreal.

Shizuo could hear the sounds of the familiar angry birds as they were launched at egg stealing pigs. Izaya cheered softly every few moments, supposedly winning a level. He looked delighted, and Shizuo had never really seen Izaya happy at something that wasn't Shizuo's own pain. Or at depressed school girls... It was almost endearing.

"Just, just be careful with it. Don't tell anyone I have it!" Shizuo said, feeling almost flustered. _"What is wrong with me? I should be careful, I just know he'll try and tell everyone.'_ Shizuo tensed, angling his body towards the door. If something like that got out, years ahead of it's current technology, it would cause problems. Shizuo was sure of it.

"Why, is it a secret? What, is it actually a weapon of some kind? Secret information? Is it from the future? A real life pokedex? Maybe it's-"

"Just shuddup already! It's just a... new prototype... yeah. So. Don't tell anyone! Or do anything weird to it!" _'He's fast, but maybe if I can grab him and get it back no one will believe him if he says anything.'_

"Okay." Izaya said simply. He flopped down, not trying to run away or anything, too fixated on the game. _'Huh. That was easy... Well, I guess this is fine... But I still need to find Shinra.'_

"Hey, Iza-err, Orihara-kun, Shinra wasn't with Class B. Do you know where else he might be at?"

Izaya didn't look up at him, but Shizuo noticed how some of the excitement and happiness drained out of him at the mention of Shinra. _'He was like that earlier too... But this is the past right? Why would anything be different from when I actually was 15...? Shinra introduced me to Izaya, they were always sort of close!' Dammit this is too confusing, I just want to go back to beating up idiots for Tom-san! I wouldn't even normally be up this early, fuck! ...I need some milk.'_

Izaya opened his mouth after a moment to reply, but a third voice cut him off.

"Looking for me?" Came an overly cheerful voice.

 _'Shinra!'_


	3. Wtf Shinra

"Shinra!" Shizuo yelled, barging into what he was pretty sure was Class B's homeroom. Eyes all turned to him, but unfortunately none of them were Shinra's.

"Young man!" The teacher exclaimed, getting Shizuo's attention.

"Why aren't you in your own class?" Everyone here was already seated and apparently all the names had been called.

"Uh.. Sorry.. Wrong room."

"Get to the right one, then. Do you need direction?"

"No ma'am." Shizuo mumbled, quickly retreating out the door and down the hall. ' _Well shit, what now? Do I keep wandering around 'till I find the right room? Did Izaya lie earlier to piss me off or do I have the wrong class? Fuck!_ ' Shizuo sighed to himself, wondering what to do. _"I guess I could try calling Shinra again...'_ Digging around in his school pants, it only took Shizuo a moment to locate the slim object.

He went to his texts to see if Shinra had replied,when he noticed none of his texts had gone through. "What? Shit, no service... of course. I should probably try the roof..." He sighed again,heading towards the stairway. He fiddled with his cell on the way, He'd called Shinra fine earlier, right? The boy didn't pick up but it still worked-

' _No wait, it had gone straight to voice mail earlier. Shit!_ ' Reaching the rooftop, he walked around the large empty space, holding the device up. No matter how high he held it or where on the roof he went, there was still no signal.

"Tch, annoying." Shizuo muttered. He heard the sound of light footsteps behind him, and a moment later came a surprised voice. ' _Ugh, what_ _now?'_

"What _is_ that that thing?" Asked a familiar voice. Shizuo turned, and there stood Izaya, eyes fixed on Shizuo's cellphone. Izaya walked forward, close to the cell, as if trying to inspect it.

"What are you talking about? It's just my cell phone." Shizuo replied, already annoyed. ' _He was such an asshole earlier, I kinda wanna punch him.'_

Shizuo was looking down at the flea, who in turn scoffed up at him, bright eyes briefly looking at him skeptically. ' _Man, forgot I was this much taller than him in highschool..._ '

"What do you mean it's a _cellphone_? I've never seen any cellphone like that!" Izaya exclaimed. He didn't seem angry or cold like earlier, just unbearably curious about Shizuo's cellphone.

"Aren't you always fiddling with, like, three of them?" Shizuo asked. Izaya's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he ignored the comment, instead moving around Shizuo to get a closer look. _What the fuc...OH shit!'_ That's when something clicked in Shizuo's head. His cellphone. His cellphone! It was modern, no! It was from the future, like him! The cellphones from when he was in highschool were those blocky ones that were just good for calls, no wonder his texts weren't going through! Did it even work now? Why did it even come with him?

"Can I see it? Where'd you even get that?" Izaya asked, enthusiastically, not unlike a child wanting another's toy. He easily slipped it from Shizuo's fingers and started to mess with Shizuo's cellphone.

"Hey!" Shizuo snapped, but was ignored in favor of the futuristic device.

"Where's the keyboard? Oh, hey! **You touch the screen?** Whoa, and what's with this format!? What's an _emoji_? Oh, little pictures! What are all these things? You can change the brightness!? What!? What do the little squares do? What's 'Angry birds' huh? What... What. A _game? These graphics! Incredible!"_ Izaya's fingers were flying over the screen of Shizuo's phone, his rusty red eyes practically glowing with excitement.

Shizuo paused, staring at him. They'd never really talked before, even in highschool. Either they'd mostly ignore each other when they were with Shinra and Kadota, or in class, or they were fighting. Seeing Izaya like this, so amazed by something he'd know well in the future, was surreal.

Shizuo could hear the sounds of the familiar angry birds as they were launched at egg stealing pigs. Izaya cheered softly every few moments, supposedly winning a level. He looked delighted, and Shizuo had never really seen Izaya happy at something that wasn't Shizuo's own pain. Or at depressed school girls... It was almost endearing.

"Just, just be careful with it. Don't tell anyone I have it!" Shizuo said, feeling almost flustered. _"What is wrong with me? I should be careful, I just know he'll try and tell everyone.'_ Shizuo tensed, angling his body towards the door. If something like that got out, years ahead of it's current technology, it would cause problems. Shizuo was sure of it.

"Why, is it a secret? What, is it actually a weapon of some kind? Secret information? Is it from the future? A real life pokedex? Maybe it's-"

"Just shuddup already! It's just a... new prototype... yeah. So. Don't tell anyone! Or do anything weird to it!" _'He's fast, but maybe if I can grab him and get it back no one will believe him if he says anything.'_

"Okay." Izaya said simply. He flopped down, not trying to run away or anything, too fixated on the game. _'Huh. That was easy... Well, I guess this is fine... But I still need to find Shinra.'_


	4. Wtf Namie

Shizuo sighed impatiently. He and Izaya were at the west wing rooftop, waiting on Kadota and Namie to arrive. Izaya hadn't said much of anything to him on the way there, just walking calmly next to Shizuo, hardly sparing the blonde a glace. It was so different from how Izaya usually was, all bubbly and chatty. To be honest, Shizuo kind of missed it. It would be grounding, at least, to see that familiar behavior instead of this constantly shifting attitude.

Shizuo looked now to Izaya, looked at his more traditional black uniform, bright red shirt underneath. At least that was the same. Kadota was wearing the black one too, though he kept his buttoned up. And Shizuo himself was in the same blue uniform as he had been in highschool, though somehow he couldn't remember any of the mornings events. All he remembered was falling asleep in his apartment then waking up and walking to school in another dimension. What a shitty surprise.

"Izaya!" Came a female voice, catching both Shizuo and Izaya's attention. A young lady with long black hair stomped up to Izaya, raising a hand a flick the boy in the head.

"Oowww~! Namie that hurt!" Izaya whined dramatically, though he was smiling. Kadota sighed behind Shizuo.

"Why were you talking to Kishitani?" She demanded. Izaya's smile dropped.

"I didn't talk to him-"

"I know you're lying, cut it out. Why were you talking to him?" Izaya glanced at Shizuo for just a second, but long enough for the girl, Namie, to notice. She turned to Shizuo.

"You. Go." She snapped at him, misinterpreting Izaya's glace.

"Ah, Namie-san," Kadota cut in "This is Heiwajima Shizuo-kun. He's the one I said will be eating with us."

"Hm, no. He leaves, now." She said, tone leaving no room for arguments. Shizuo flinched a little at it, but found himself smiling. She remained him just a tiny bit of Vorona...

 _"Is something funny, Heiwajima?"_ Came an icy cold voice.

"Ah, no sorry. It's just...cute." 'No, that's not the right word...' "Funny." He said, grinning at her, thinking of his Russian friend. Vorona was so nice and Innocent,but she could be terrifying when she wanted to be. It clashed with her cute appearance in an interesting way. He looked up when he heard a furious hiss however, and saw Namies eyes narrow dangerously. He didn't know anything about this girl, but it was obvious right away that he made a mistake.

She strode up to him, furious in the way she was glaring daggers and bringing back a small hand, ready to slap him for his insolence. She was directly in front of him and bringing her hand when Kadota seemed to realize too what was happening. Lightning on his feet, he was there quick enough to pull her back just in time.

"Don't!" He gasped, tugging her away as her hand met air. She struggled harshly and Izaya straighted up from where he had been passively watching. He frowned at Kyouhei, disappointed.

"Dotachin, what's the matter?" Izaya asked.

"She was about to hit him!" Kadota hissed in reply, fighting to hold back the angry girl.

"Namie has hit people before, you've never cared." Izaya remarked, tilting his head.

"Yes," Namie hissed, still glaring at Shizuo. "Now let me go so I can finish the job!" She struggled harder, and Shizuo could see Kadota gritting his teeth and struggling himself to hold her back. 'What the fuck. Does he think I'll hit her back? I've never hit a girl! And I never would!" But despite these thoughts, Shizuo couldn't get a word in to say so.

"Just calm down Namie! Heiwajima, I think you'd better leave..." Kadota said, frowning at Shizuo. He tugged Namie back, shoulders tensing like he expected Shizuo to put up a fight.

"Dotachin, what's gotten into you?" Izaya asked. He reached over and patted Shizuo on the cheek almost patronizingly, and Shizuo didn't hold back his growl. "Shizu-chan won't mind if she slaps him right? Just let her do it so we can eat already." By now Namie had stopped struggling so much, but she still looked pissed.

"You don't understand." Kadota said desperately, eyes fixed on Izaya's hand which was still resting upon Shizuo's cheek. His grip tightened on Namie anxiously, and Izaya quickly took notice.

"Namie-chan, should I slap him for you~?" He purred, and she smirked at Izaya.

"Yes I think that would be fine~" She cooed back.

"Wait-!" Kadota gasped, but Izaya was already moving himself before Shizuo, hand rushing towards Shizuo before anyone, namely Kadota, could properly react. There was a sound similar to a fire cracker going off, a loud POP noise echoing around them for a few tense seconds. Everything seemed to stand still, as it the very universe was afraid of the blonde monsters reaction. When Shizuo smiled, the world started again in a panic. One could swear they heard birds flying away fro the area, students and teachers like tensing in fear for a reason unknown to them.

"Iiii-zaaaaa-yaaaaa-kuuuuuun." He growled, still grinning from where his head was turned to the side. His hands quickly fisted themselves in Izaya's jacket, lifting the smirking boy up with ease. Izaya chuckled at him, clearly delighted. Shizuo pulled back a fist, though he'd have kept his hand flat for a slap if he had any control over the vicious anger cycling through him at that moment.

"You hit me. That means you're prepared to be hit back. And eye for an eye, right Iiii-zaaaaa-yaaaaa-kuuuuun!?" Shizuo snarled. 'I've been dying for a chance like this.'

"Stop! Put him down Heiwajima!" Kadota snapped, shoving himself in between Shizuo and Izaya. Izaya stumbled back as Shizuo had to abruptly let go with Kadota shoving hard at his arms. Izaya pouted at Kadota.

"Dotachin! You know I can take care of myself~ Why'd you interfere?" Izaya asked, looking sullen at losing his nee form of entertainment.

"Not against him." Kadota said, looking at Izaya sternly, almost how a parent might tell their child about vans and candy.

'Seriously getting sick of this guy treating me like a fucking villain.' Shizuo thought, getting angrier. However, he took a deep breath through his nose, reaching his hand back and griping the fence behind him. He tore a hole in it, metal links breaking off and crumbing in his fist quietly. Thankfully neither Izaya nor Kadota noticed, too focused no arguing about Izaya and if he could handle Shizuo or not. If Namie noticed, she didn't care enough to say anything.

Letting go of the metal, and being silently grateful none had cut him, Shizuo simply sighed and sat down. He pulled out his Bento and began eating quickly. Lunch would be over soon. The others joined him in eating, though Izaya still pouted at Kadota between bites. Soon enough the bell rang, and it was time for the day to continue on.


	5. Wtf Kiss

Shizuo didn't go to class. Instead, he wandered around the school, avoding teachers and making his way to the stairs. He needed to find a way out of the school, as he'd decided that he couldn't just wait around for something to happen. Like hell was he going to relive high school!

He needed some supernatural help. Looking down the hall for any teachers, he quickly walked past the doors and to the second floor stairway. 'So far so good.' He thought, nose twitching as a certain smell had been following him as he made his getaway.

Shizuo sighed softly as he went down the stairs and down to the shoe lockers of the first floor. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore a familiar smell. He was starting to get annoyed, as Izaya had been following him for the last 10 minutes but hadn't come out of hiding, apparently choosing to stay out of sight. It was fairly impressive actually, Shizuo only knew he was there because of his smell. He couldn't hear his footsteps at all. 'Flea is sneaky as ever…'

"Oi, Izaya-kun. You can come out." He said, looking around warily. He honestly wasn't sure where Izaya was hiding. The smell seemed awfully close though...

It took a few seconds for anything to happen, but suddenly there was a noise and a rush of wind behind him. Shizuo spun on his heel to find Izaya frowning at him, arms crossed and pouting. Shizuo looked between Izaya and the ceiling rapidly, shook as hell.

"How'd you know I was there?" Izaya pouted exaggeratedly, huffing at the blonde teen.. "You didn't look up once!" He assed, and Shizuo felt his cheeks redden self consciously.

"I could smell you." He mumbled, ignoring how Izaya's eyes widened. "Stop following me! I'm leaving school early okay?"

"Really?" Izaya asked, looking at him with interested eyes.

"Yeah…"

"Skipping on the first day Shizu-chan, how irresponsible~" Izaya cooed, though he frowned in thought a moment later. "Why leaving now, though? School's only in for another hour and a half. Surely you can handle it."

"I have to meet someone…" Shizuo sighed, walking out the front doors and towards the gate. 'I can't go to her after school, Shinra hates me… This is the only time I can go.' Shizuo thought, hardening his resolve.

"Okay… I'll buy that. But how will you get past the gate?" Izaya asked, walking with him. 'Shit.'

Shizuo paused, looking up at the gate looming before him. Really, his only option would be to break a hole in the walls surrounding the school or break the thick heavy lock on the gate. The second option seemed the least violent, so Shizuo decided on that one. Reaching toward the lock, the tips of his fingers just barely brushed it when Izaya slapped his hands away.

"Oi!" Shizuo growled, turning to Izaya.

"Stupid!" Izaya snapped. What, you want to break it? Wonderful idea. And if you did manage that, which you wouldn't, what would you do with it?" Shizuo shrugged, taken aback. 'I could easily break it.' Shizuo thought, amused.

"Leave it, I guess." He answered, not giving it much thought. Izaya shot him a look that clearly said he thought he was stupid.

Izaya sighed, shaking his head. He started backing up quickly. _'...What, is he leaving?_ _'_ Shizuo wondered.

"Watch me and follow." Izaya said curtly, before taking a running start at the gate. Shizuo's gaze followed him, surprised as Izaya leapt, fingers catching the top of the structure. The agile teen swung himself up to perch at the top, looking down at Shizuo expectantly. Shizuo paled. 'He expects me to do that!? Fuck I can't do that! Fuck fuck fuck, but I can't just back down… DAMMIT!'

Backing up like Izaya did, he tried to summon his anger as best he could as he ran at the gate. Izaya didn't move from where he was perched on top however, and it made Shizuo hesitate as he jumped. That was undoubtedly his mistake.

Shizuo managed to grab the gate near the top, and put a foot down on a bar below to help support himself. He started to try and push himself up and over the gate next to Izaya but he didn't have enough momentum in the end. his hand slipped. The blonde fell to the ground, landing on his back roughly.

"Fuck!" He shouted, hissing as pain shot down his spine and up the back of his skull. He heard the sound of Izaya jumping down, but ignored it in favor of rolling over to his hands and knees. He looked up to find Izaya crouched in front of him, smirking.

"Aww~ Poor Shizu-chan. But wow, you can get right back up after that? Crazy!" He gasped, grinning down at Shizuo. Shizuo huffed, looking away. He was annoyed by his enemy seeing his weakness, and a small bit of embarrassment pooled in his stomach, a faint red spreading in his cheeks.

Quickly pushing himself up, he stumbled a bit, crashing right into Izaya. They both fell back to the ground, Izaya letting out a surprised yelp. The darker haired teens legs were splayed out awkwardly as he had still been crouched when Shizuo had crashed into him.

"Ah, sorry-" Shizuo started, hands on either side of Izaya, supporting his weight.

"G-get off!" Izaya snapped, cutting him off. His face quickly going red. Shizuo noticed this and frowned down at his red eyed companion.

"What's wrong with you?" Shizuo asked, leaning down closer to Izaya, who was starting to look slightly panicked at this point. "You're all red…"

"S-shut up! You're imagining things, okay?! Idiot! " Izaya snapped voice shaky. He was pushing at Shizuo's chest insistently, cheeks seemed to get even redder at Shizuo's close proximity, and honestly Shizuo had no idea what was even going on. or why Izaya was so flustered. 'Was he always like this?'

"You're acting weird." He said, suspicious. "All innocent and shit, like you're trying to be cute-OOF!" Shizuo lurched forward as Izaya's knee hit him hard the stomach, the informant yelling at him for being an idiot.

Luck was not on Shizuo's side that day, because moving forward when he was already so close to Izaya meant their faces collided. In a kiss. Because of course that would happen.

Eyes still open, they stared at each other, lips locked. Gold met red, light met dark, and it felt to Shizuo like everything had stopped around he and Izaya. Like the earth itself had paused, focusing on only the two on the ground.

Pulling back slowly, eyes wide and heart hammering in his chest, Shizuo wondered if the other teen could hear his heart beating. It seemed impossibly loud to Shizuo, and felt ready to burst from his chest. Had he been touching Izaya, he would have known that the other teens heart was going just as fast.

Shizuo searched his mind for something to say as Izaya stared at him, frozen. He couldn't think with Izaya under him and frozen like this, though. When the future informant didn't move after a few moments, Shizuo waved a hand in front of the brunettes face, trying to bring him back to reality.

Slowly, Izaya blinked. His eyes narrowed and teeth grit together in sudden, embarrassed anger. The last thing Shizuo saw was a hand speeding towards his face for the second time that day.


	6. Wtf Dream

He was chasing someone down a city alley he couldn't see. It was dark, world distorted around the edges in a lovely way, and his body sang in delight at a familiar situation. He could tell by his height and his bartender getup that he was an adult and back in his world.

Someone ahead laughed, voice rich and pleasant. He reached for the man he was chasing, but his hand went through black smoke and Celty was there instead. She turned to him, body tense and panicked. She held up her phone to him, trying to tell him something, but the message was nonsense.

[Gnimaerd er'uoy ouzihs.]

A smile sharp like a knife pulled him away from Celty, the playful man's fingers tangling in the back of his hair and a deep voice cooing at him to play.

[Ydob laer ruoy otni kcab yaw a dnif ot evah uoy. Laer t'nsi siht] Couldn't she see he was busy?

Wicked lips nipped at his flesh, tongue sliding up to his ear. Fur tickled Shizuo's neck and his every nerve was on fire! City lights in this distance, seclusion of a dark alley on a warm summer there was surely no better place to be. And with this man teasing him so delightfully he couldn't help but enjoy.

[Pu ekaw, esaelp ouzihs.] A hand at his belt.

[Pu ekaw!] A playful tongue in his mouth.

[PU EKAW!] A light in his eyes. Celty and the man faded away, leaving Shizuo alone in a familiar bed. This wasn't to say that it was his own bed. Actually it was one of the four beds in the nurse's office. The one by the window. Eyes closed though he couldn't be sure if it was that same bed, but he hoped so.

He'd spent a lot of time there in his highschool days, and he'd forgotten how quiet and peaceful it was after a fight. He hoped Nurse Busti was still here. Something cold and wet was placed on his head. It felt nice. He frowned, though, when a moment later odd noises reached his ears. Bubbly noises? No, just little dings and pops? Almost like…Candy crush?

"You could at least leave the room if you're going to steal my phone." He sighed. The body beside him jumped. "Or turn the volume down."

"I like the little sounds." Izaya replied, voice almost sheepish. Shizuo chose to ignore that. He lifted his head to stare at the other boy, but the highschooler wouldn't look at him. His eyes were trained on the colorful game and very carefully not on Shizuo.

"What am I doing here?" Shizuo asked.

"You fell." Izaya replied, shoulders tensing. After a moment he amended, "Well...when I slapped you and your head hit the school gate. Pretty hard. I'm surprised you aren't concussed." He replied, still not looking at Shizuo.

"So, how'd I get here?"'He asked. 'Who would have carried me?'

"Dotachin carried you." Izaya said simply. "He wouldn't let me help." Pouting, Izaya took the cloth from Shizuo's head to dip it back in a bowl of water. Wringing it out Izaya hesitated, looking conflicted, like he wanted to say something.

"Ah...that was nice of him." Shizuo replied. Izaya didn't reply, eyes fixed on the damp cloth in his hand. "Umm… well. Thanks for getting him."

"Dotachin was watching us." Izaya said, voice sharp.

"What!? T-then he saw us ki-" "Ah whatever!" Izaya snapped, frowning. He threw the cloth at the bowl, splashing water to the floor. "School's almost out. Dotchin has your bag." He said curtley, tossing Shizuo's phone onto the bed. Izaya walked out of the room without looking back.

'What is his problem? It was an accident!'


	7. Wtf Dotachin

Walking out in the hall, phone safe in his pocket, Shizuo began to look around for Kadota. 'Would have been nice if the flea told me where he was.' Shizuo thought to himself, frowning.

Turns out he didn't have to look long, though, as Kadota was already waiting for him at the end of the hall. He was holding Shizuo's bag, frowning at the blonde.

"Hey." Shizuo greeted, walking up to his old/new friend. "Thanks, uh, thanks for bringing me to the nurse. I'm sure I was heavy-"

"Stay away from Izaya."

"Okay."

"I mean it!" Kadota snapped, stepping forward. Nearly chest to chest, kadota glared at him. "I don't like you" He stated. "And I **really** don't like you pushing him down and forcing yourself Izaya. In PUBLIC no less." He hissed. Shizuo bristled, familiar anger washing through him and making his chest burn in a wave.

"Oi! I did NOT force myself on him! I TRIPPED." Shizuo hissed back, gritting his teeth. 'What the hell is his problem!? It's like he's jealous!'

Kadota scoffed, obviously not believing him. It made Shizuo angrier, made him furious that one of the people he was sure he could trust turned on him without even trying to listen to his side.

"Tripped and kissed him!? I saw what happened, okay? You pushed him down, he kicked you in the stomach, and then you kissed him." 'Is that why my stomach is sore?'

"Look, it was an accident. I didn't mean to kiss the flea." He spat, but realized his mistake not a moment later.

" Flea? " Kadota snarled, completely losing his normal, calm composure. He shoved Shizuo, fueling the fire growing in Shizuo's chest. It was becoming clear to Shizuo that his friend had only seen part of what had happened. He really didn't want to fight Dotachin, but this asshole was seriously making him mad.

"Why the hell do you care so much, huh?" He asked . 'It's like he's jealous!'

Kyouhei glowered at that, shoulders hunching in a familiar self conscious tick Shizuo recognized from his original highschool days. Everytime Kadota had been embarrassed or insecure, his shoulders tensed up around himself as if he were trying to build a wall. It happened a lot around girls he happened to like, too. 'What the fuck…?'

"I don't like anyone messing with my friends, and I don't like you. Do I need a reason beyond that?" Kadota's voice was low now, and he was tensing his body like he was ready to fight Shizuo.

"Well fine! I don't like that asshole anyway. Izaya is a parasitic bastard and-" Shizuo didn't finish his sentence as Kadota lunged at him, fist connecting before Shizuo could even flinch. He got Shizuo square in the jaw, pushing the taller boy back with the force of it.

Snarling, Shizuo punched back. Kadota tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough, Shizuo's fist hitting his chest and sending him crashing down the hall. He was back on his feet quick though, rushing back at the blonde who dared insult his friend. Just then ice water splashed over the both of them, stopping the two from continuing their fight.

"Whoa, shit!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

They turned in sync to find Namie standing there, one hand holding an empty bucket and the other on her hip. It seemed to be a preferred pose for her. 'Oh fuck a duck!'

"Boys..." She sighed condescendingly, though she couldn't resist smirking at them. "I didn't think I'd see the day when someone would be fighting over Izaya. "

"We're not fighting over him…" Kadota mumbled embarrassedly, shoulders hunching again. 'We weren't?' Shizuo was pretty sure they were. Though it certainly wasn't for the same reasons...

"Then what were you fighting about?" She asked, raising a thin eyebrow at them.

"He...that's…How do you even know what we were fighting about?" Kadota sighed, exasperated. "Izaya tell you?"

"Tell me what?" She asked.

"You don't even know?!" Shizuo asked, using a damp sleeve to try and wipe the water from his face. It really wasn't helping, and both he and Kadota were dripping water all over the halls. "Why the hell did you splash us if you don't even know why we're fighting?"

"Because you're annoying, that's why." She said. Namie let go of the bucket, and it clattered to the ground with a loud bang making both boys flinch. "What happened?"

"He molested Izaya!" Kadota snapped. Namie's eyes immediately went wide, and she spun on her heel to Shizuo for confirmation.

"What?"

"I did not!" Shizuo yelled, fed up. "I tripped! It was an accident, and we-we kissed. But that's fucking it. He hit me pretty hard too, so I'd say we're more than even." He snapped, rubbing a damp sleeve under his chin to collect some of the build up sweat and water.

"That's all?" Namie laughed, though Shizuo's eye twitched at the thinly veiled relief in her voice.

"Whatever." Kadota sighed, irritated. He started off, wet shoes squeaking against the tiles.

"Where are you going?" Namie asked, voice suspiciously smug. Shizuo looked between the two, confused.

Kadota seemed confused too, turning back to her. "It's 3:15, going home. We'll wait for you at the usual place."

Namie's smirk grew wider. "Izaya left half an hour ago, went home early." She seemed delighted in the way Kadota's face fell for the briefest moment before he turned away, walking down the hall. "Wait for me." She called back, grinning. He waves a hand to signal he heard, and was out of sight soon.

"Now then," She said, glancing at Shizuo. "You and I should have a little chat."

'Fucking hell..'


	8. Wtf Seriously

"You're an idiot." Namie sighs, turning to him. Her eyes were cold again, all forms of previous amusement gone.

"Why am I an idiot?" Shizuo asks, frowning. 'Didn't she just hear me explain what happened?'

Shizuo was seriously sick of talking to people about Izaya at this point. He's wet and cold he just wants to get this shitty day over with. He's tired, exhaustion pulling at his core and demanding he go home and sleep. The feeling is like someone calling to him, but from so far away he isn't sure if it's real or just his imagination.

"You fought with Kyouhei." Namie replies, rolling her eyes like the answer is painfully obvious. To her it probably was.

"Okay. So?"

"So, now he thinks you like Izaya. Or that you like his body, at least." She chuckles.

"I do not-!" Shizuo started, anger bursting in his chest at the accusation.

"I know you don't." She snaps, quick to cut him off. "But now he thinks you do, meaning he's not going to be very friendly towards you."

"...Oh." Shizuo said, trying to sound like he understood. He didn't understand.

"Uh-huh. Why don't you try eating with the jocks tomorrow."

"Why?" Shizuo asks, confused.

"You look like a jock." She replies, shoulders hitching up in a shrug. Shizuo just stares at her, lost. When, after a few moments, he just continues to stare blankly at her, she sighes and decides to elaborate some. "You can't eat with us tomorrow."

"Why not?" He demands, frowning now. It doesn't faze her.

"You really are the dumb jock type, huh?" Namie snaps, and she's glaring at him now. 'How the hell am **I** the one pissing everyone else off ?' He glares back not saying anything and ignoring the insult. No matter how much it pissed him off, he wasn't going to be mean to a girl. He knew better.

"Kadota-kun doesn't like you. And frankly, I don't care one way or the other. Now maybe if Izaya liked you then you would be okay but oh, that's right! You pissed him off didn't you? That red hand mark on your cheek is proof enough of that." Namie snarks. Shizuo was seriously getting kind of sick of her attitude but, **shit** , she had a point. Why the hell was she even here though? Honestly, he doesn't remember her ever being at his high school. How come she was so close to Izaya and Kyouhei? Not that he cared who was close to the pest.

"I didn't mean to make him mad. Or Kadota-kun. It was an accident." He says, trying not to let the anger or hurt into his voice though he has a feeling he's failed. 'Shitty flea…This is all his fault!' He thought, trying to convince himself of that and shift the blame, but it didn't feel true. He wasn't really going to have to go through this new reality with no friends, was he?

"I know, but it seems like it's already too late. Go make some other friends tomorrow, this was only the first day after all. Or, be alone. I really don't care." And with that she was walking away, long hair billowing out at her abrupt turn.

'Whatever.' Shizuo thinks. 'It doesn't matter, I don't care.' But he feels numb. It was stupid to feel upset over something like this, but that didn't make the feeling go away.

He goes home. He tries to eat his dinner despite not feeling hungry at all. He gives short answers about his day and says no when his mother asks if he's made any friends-doesn't even tell her he tried. He watches a movie with Kasuka, seeing as he has very little homework. It's nice, he hasn't seen his brother in awhile back in his time and he's happy that at least one good thing has come of this weird timeline change. He tries to ignore how tired he feels, and the ache in his chest isn't helping.

Still, as the movie goes on he can't seem to pay much attention. His chest is heavy and he's seen this film before anyway. It's Cute Warrior Sargent Space R, The Movie. Sargent Space is crying over something onscreen and though the scene is silly and cheesy, it makes Shizuo feel worse.

He feel alone. Abandoned by two people he thought he could rely on, a stranger he didn't know, and even by his enemy. 'Stop being a wuss.' He berates himself, but the crushed feeling only grows as Sargent Space's friends swoop in to comfort the sad warrior. It's too much for how tired and distressed he feels, so he gets up. Making an excuse about being tired and wanting to use the bath, Kasuka nods in understanding and Shizuo rushes off. Kasuka is as accepting as always, at least that hasn't changed.

Once he's clean and dry and in his old bed, he falls asleep fast. His sleep is peaceful, thankfully. Shizuo finds himself dreaming of red eyes and the same man from earlier in the day. Celty is there like last time, but she leaves them alone so it's like the two of them, hovering at the edges.

It feels like it's just Shizuo, the man, and darkness. It's a nice combination, and they're dancing this time. The man is singing to him in a low melody, something sweet about a chase and broken hearts. The words are dark but the tone is comforting, and they kiss as the man sings the last words, voice dying out on the final note like a single piano key being held down. He thinks the man murmurs something to him. Come back to me.

He can't hear it, but something in his heart knows.

And then the man is gone as his mother knocks on his door and begins to pull him to the day in this continued, distorted reality he's found himself in. There's a short series of beeps as he opens his eyes and comes from between the haze of asleep and awareness but they stop once he concentrates. 'Odd.' He didn't set any alarm...

In the end, he thinks nothing of it. He hums, trying to match the song he heard in his dream. Trying to remember the lyrics. He couldn't place hem from any song he knew, and all he could remember was something about lovers fighting and staying apart because it was better that way.

Shizuo brushes his teeth, brushes his hair, dons a clean uniform, and gathers his lunch and school things quietly. He says nothing to Kasuka on the walk, not even noticing his brother when kasuka shoots him a worried glance. He doesn't think about finding Celty. He doesn't consider talking to Shinra. He should, really, but he's too absorbed in trying to properly remember his dream. 'It just feels so important...' He thinks.

He walks through the school gates, early, and it's nice that no punks immediately attack him. It seems his rep isn't bad yet. Soon he's in homeroom, setting his bag down when someone tackles him with a yell of "Shizu-chan!" He jumps, startled, and the hands slide down off his shoulders as Izaya slides around to hide behind him. He laugh in delight when Namie stomps over, yelling heatedly.

"Give it back or I'll murder you." She hisses, cheeks just the slightest bit pink.

"Noooo! Shizu-chan, save me from the scary lady~" He pleads teasingly, and Namie glares harder. Shizuo is tense, worried about the consequences of Namie's anger. He looks at her, though, and on closer inspection finds her eyes are softer than he previously thought. She's almost smiling now, too. 'Are they...are they just being playful?' Shizuo wonders, surprised.

"Give it back. Right now!" Namie yells.

"Give what back?" Shizuo asks.

"Uwaa, I have no idea what you mean Namie-chan!" Izaya purrs. She growls, lunging teasingly for him and he laughs, dancing in a circle around Shizuo like he was some kind of maypole. "Unless you mean this?" He smirks, holding up a pair of woman's gym shorts. Well, if you could call them that, seeing how high cut they were…

"I told you to stop going through my things!" Namie hisses, but her brown eyes are bright.

"I kind of like it though!" Izaya chirps, turning to Shizuo and holding the shorts at waist length. "What do you think Shizu-chan, wouldn't they look good on me?" He asks. Namie is clearly trying not to laugh, crossing her arms and huffing. Shizuo doesn't reply, too startled. 'Isn't he mad about yesterday? Random ass pest!'

"With your chicken legs? Yeah right." Namie replies instead, and Izaya lets out a dramatic cry of despair. He drops the shorts to place a hand to his forehead and pretend to sway. Namie takes the opportunity to snatch the shorts up with a small "hmmph." She shoves them back in her bag, cheeks pink and trying not to laugh at Izaya's wails of betrayal.

"Oh Namie-chan you wound me so! Chicken legs…That's not true, right Shizu-chan?" Izaya asks, falling back against Shizuo with a pout. Shizuo's first instinct is, of course, to push Izaya away but when the red eyed teen tilts his head back to grin at him something stops him **.** _'I'm not who you may believe me to be...'_ The words float to him, bits of the song from his dream resurfacing, something about the red of Izaya's eyes triggering it. _'And you're not my enemy.'_ Coos the phantom voice.

'This isn't my enemy.' He thinks, startled by this new revelation. 'This is just a boy who's having fun and… including me. He's including me in his fun and he doesn't know anything about our hatred.' Shizuo thinks. It's odd to even try and consider Izaya innocent in any aspect, and while there's no telling what this Izaya is capable of or if he's any different from the Izaya that Shizuo knows, he can't hate someone for something they're unaware of. As much as he wants to hang onto that last scrap of familiarity in an unfamiliar world, he has to let go.

'Besides, Izaya doesn't seem to hate me. He doesn't know I'm a monster, to him I'm normal...' Why should Shizuo allow himself to be isolated when someone apparently likes him enough to joke around with him, to include him, even if it is his enemy. 'That's in another world.' He makes up his mind then, and grins down at Izaya who's been frowning at him during his long silence.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak poultry ." He replies, finally. Izaya gasps and Namie actually laughs, hand coming to her mouth to try and protect her stoic character. Shizuo feels almost high for a moment with how happy he is, and he knows he can get through this. And it looks like now that he won't be alone after all...


	9. Wtf Baseball

'I am so fucking hungry.'

"Eat up Namie-chan!" Izaya was cooing, holding chopsticks with a bite of his own food up to Namie's mouth. She wasn't amused, glaring at him as if he was offering a rotten egg. She knew how Izaya was though, if she opened her mouth for even a second to speak he'd shove the food in and all hell would break loose.

'I forgot how much I ate as a teenager, why did I ask for a light lunch? Stupid!'

"Naaaamieee-chaaaan~ C'mon, it'll be cute!" He begged, shooting her a pitiful look. She only glared, not fazed a bit.

'FUCK if this were like the old days Kadota or Shinra would share...but they both hate me. Shit.'

"Maybe try feeding someone else?" Kadota asked casually, reading a manga, acting like he wasn't paying attention. However, his cheeks were dark despite his feigned disinterest. Shizuo, who was currently lost in thought and uninvolved in the conversation, glanced at the group. He was just so hungry dammit! Looking around, he noticed Izaya had barely touched food and was seemingly offering some to Namie. Perking up, Shizuo wonders if Izaya will share with him. They were friends now, after all! He leans forward, staring at the nearly full bento in Izaya's lap.

"Mind if I try that?" He asks, looking up. He swears he's never seen Kadota look so offended in his life. 'What's his problem?' Izaya stares at Shizuo for a minutes, caught off-guard, before quickly shoving his chopsticks in his mouth with a grin. "Nope." Shizuo frowns and Izaya only stares coolly at him.

"Why not?" Shizuo asks, frowning. He leans closer to Izaya.

"I don't want to feed Shizu-chan."

"Hah? Who the fuck said anything about being fed!?" He demanded, face going red.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Izaya asked, frowning. He was the one looking offended now.

"Not really..." Shizuo replies. He really doesn't see what that has to do with anything. Izaya huffs at him, picking up another bite and shuffling over to Shizuo. He holds it up expectantly.

"Say aah, Shizu-chan!" Izaya coos, smirking now. 'Oh, hell no.'

"No."

"C'mon, you're the one who wanted a bite!"

"Not if you're feeding me."

"Shut up and eat it, Shizu-chan."

"I said no!" Shiuzo snapped, glaring right back at Izaya. Izaya huffs, again, turning away from him. Really, he seemed way too irritated just because Shizuo wouldn't have a bite. 'God what is he, some anime cliché? The types that act mean and bossy but are romantic or something?' He forgets the name, only knowing the type because Kasuka did some voice acting in an anime with that type. It's not out yet, but he remembers it was a redone version of that old anime they watched the other night. Sargent Space, he thinks.

"Fine, It's not like I was actually going to give you some anyway. Stupid." Izaya said, sinking lower in his seat and eating his food. Shizuo turned to an amused Namie.

"Where do those those jocks sit, again?" He asked with a frown, irritated himself.

"Eeh? Why?" Izaya asked, perking up curiously.

"So I can go sit with 'em." Shizuo replied. Izaya look surprised, and Shizuo debated whether or not he should tell him him he was joking . 'Why the hell am I willingly sitting with him anyway?'

"Shizu-chan wants to be a jock, huh? Well okay!" He chirped, standing now. "Hmm, which sport for Shizu-chan…? Lacrosse? Wait, do we even play that in Japan? Ah, and football is out. I doubt you'd be strong enough for it." He mumbled, eyeing Shizuo's think, lanky body. Shizuo paled, chucking almost nervously. Kadota shot him an amused glance.

"Hmmm… Ah I got it!" Izaya said, lighting up. He grabbed Shizuo's hand, dragging him to the door. "Bye bye!" He called to Namie and Kadota before the door shut. 'Seriously, of course this Izaya is the type to just do whatever he likes. Just like the original pest! Why didn't I get a quiet flea?'

As they walked, Shizuo was resisting the urge to pull his wrist away from Izaya's grip. It wasn't so much that it was Izaya anymore, but no one really… touched him. Ever.

Celty wasn't overly touchy feely and really only touched him for a hug if he was upset or something bad happened. Shinra hadn't touched him in a non-medical way beyond a pat on the back in years. His brother didn't like hugs, vorona acted weird and flustered if he so much as looked at her, he had no idea why, and Tom-san never initiated any contact unless it was trying to pry him off some deadbeat asshole.

So having Izaya just casually take his hand or try to, apparently, feed him, and even cling to his back like he had this morning was surreal. Beyond weird. He wasn't sure at this point if it was because Izaya didn't know of his monstrous strength or if that's just how he was with people he liked.

It seemed to be like that a lot in this universe. The old Izaya was okay with contact, but even in highschool no one really wanted it when pretty girls were too shy and even friends didn't really like him, and he didn't offer it unless it suited his drama. It was probably the same now. Shizuo wondered how many people noticed his absence, and if Izaya was one of them. 'Tch, he was probably the first. '

Shizuo didn't notice Izaya had stopped pulling him until he nearly crashed into him. He looked up to find they were in the gym. 'How the FUCK did I not notice we went outside? I swear...we were on the roof just a second ago. Fuck it's like we teleported, what the fuck?' Shizuo thought. Was he really that lost in thought? The more he considered it, though, the more a headache started creeping on.

He was, once again, pulled of his thoughts by Izaya who jabbed him in the ribs.

"Wake up Shizu-chan, we're playing ball!' He announced. "Baseball that is."


	10. Wtf Drugs

"Baseball?" Shizuo asks, frowning. He's walking alongside an eager flea. 'What the fuck, I don't know anything about that! '

"Yup! We're here to recruit some players." Izaya replies, glancing at him.

"Why can't we just play with Kadota? Wait, why are we playing at all!?" Shizuo snaps, gritting his teeth to keep from yelling too loud.

"Stupid. We need more than four players." Izaya says coolly, like it should be obvious that three players isn't enough. 'Tch, how would I know! Wait, four?'

"Four?" Shizuo echoes his own thoughts, confused. He, Izaya, and Dotachin make three right?

"Don't tell me you're forgetting Namie!" Izaya says, laughing.

"She's a girl."

"Wow, you figured that out all by yourself?" 'Asshole.' Shizuo thinks, glaring down at his slightly smaller friend. 'Ugh, friends with the pest...'

"Girls can't play baseball. At least, not against men." Shizuo snaps. "She'll get hurt." He says, but Izaya just laughs at him, red eyes bright and smiling now.

"Please, tell her that before we start." He says, amused, walking further onto the field. Shizuo sighed, walking behind him. 'Baseball? Seriously?'

"Doesn't baseball take a long time to play?" Shizuo questions. He remembers his dad watching a game every once in awhile, and it never seemed to end.

"You have somewhere to be?" Izaya asks him, not looking back as he strides further out onto the field.

"Uh, yeah. Class?" Izaya stops walking at that, shooting an annoyed look at him for asking stupid questions.

"Shizu-chan, the game isn't gonna take all night." Izaya sighs. Shizuo frowns back at Izaya, starting to feel uneasy.

"What?" Shizuo asked, staring hard at Izaya and carefully not at the field that suddenly looks bathed in rich afternoon light rather than bright morning light. The air feels warmer too, and his instincts scream **wrong**.

"It doesn't take all night," Izaya repeats slowly, annoyance fading away, being replaced by concern now. "Just an hour or two… are you feeling okay? You look pale."

"But it's the lunch hour." Shizuo insists, ignoring Izaya's question because no, he wasn't okay. His head was starting to hurt, he felt sick. "We won't have time to play now."

"Lunch? You mean dinner time? I didn't know you ate so early." Izaya tries to joke, but it fails with the way Shizuo chokes at his words. Izaya takes a step forward, placing a cool hand against Shizuo's forehead. "Shizu-chan, if you don't feel like playing then go change and sit down. It's okay, someone else can take your spot." He says, looking surprisingly concerned about Shizuo's health. It's then that Shizuo's brain registers the "go change" part.

"What!?" Shizuo gasps, taking a step back and looking down at himself in alarm. Sure enough, he's wearing a blue and white baseball uniform that says RAIRA across the front, with too tight white pants and borrowed cleats to match. Izaya's in the same outfit, staring at him worriedly, and Shizuo can't breathe.

Izaya is saying something, but Shizuo isn't listening over the rush of blood in his ears. He's sitting in the grass now, and in his peripheral vision he sees various things start twitching. Some of the kids too, they're twitching and convulsing violently. No one seems to notice, though. Like it's not happening, like everything is completely normal.

A baseball bat is lying next to him. It's stretching itself out and then shrinking rapidly like something out of a 3D game. Shizuo stares hard at it, willing it to stop. Like if he looks hard enough it will stop and be normal. The kids fall to the ground, eyes rolling up to reveal the whites and blood spilling past shaking lips. They're mouthing something but he can't make it out and he's too nauseous to think. He shuts his eyes, praying the kids will stop, stop, 'Stop already, I can't take it!'

A hand grips his chin then, and Shizuo opens his eyes again to see angry red eyes. It's blurry, everything is blurry and he is laying down somewhere. 'When did that happen...?' His thoughts are slow, muddled, like fog is spreading through his mind.

"Fight it, beast." Izaya says, and his face is older. It's not the playful teenager Shizuo is looking at but the man who never flinches and never backs down. It's the real Izaya.

"He can't!" Comes another voice, and a prick in his arm. Then another. And another. He's getting woozy at this point, head spinning and muscles going lax. Sedative. Shizuo focuses on those red eyes instead of thinking too hard about what's going on. He's always thought they were an unusual color, was surprised when he Shinra told him they weren't contacts not long after he'd introduced them. He'd die before he ever told Izaya, but he always thought they were attractive.

"Izaya-kun we can't force this, he has to get out on his own! I can't believe you messed with the controls!" The voice hisses. 'Shinra?'

"Fight it!" Izaya repeats, gripping Shizuo's jaw harder and ignoring the doctor. The fluff of his coat tickles Shizuo's neck, and he tries to say something. 'What's going on?' He thinks. 'Why do you look so scared?' But those crimson eyes are already starting to fade into the black spreading over his vision. He's heard Izaya described as a demon, he's heard girls whisper he was pretty despite his hellish red eyes, but to Shizuo they've always reminded him of something nice. When people said they were like bloodstains, he'd always feel stupid for thinking of a rose, or the leaves in autumn. He'd feel ashamed for thinking 'Pretty' instead of 'Evil' even though they were enemies.

Shizuo can't see anything anymore, can't hear Izaya anymore. He breathes out a faint "Sorry…" before his eyes close and even the hand on his jaw dissipates like smoke. He feels like he's hurt someone, but even that fades into static.

When his eyes open again, he's faced with greyish mud colored ones. They pull back, a cheerful voice welcoming him back to awareness.

"Shinra?" Shizuo asks, voice hoarse. His vision is clear now, and he takes a hurried look around the room. Thankfully, nothing is twitching or moving but Izaya isn't anywhere to be seen. Shinra is smiling at him, but Shizuo can see the hate in his eyes as clear as if he was glaring and snarling at him. Shizuo notices he's not wearing his doctor coat but a uniform. He's younger. 'Great.'

"I wish you wouldn't call me so familiarly. It's, quite frankly, disgusting." Shinra says, and Shizuo sighs.

"Why're you here…?" He asks, struggling to sit up some.

"I was curious about your condition, and Orihara wouldn't tell me what happened."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. I'm merely curious." He said, smiling in a friendly way that didn't match his words. Shizuo sighed, running a hand through his hair. He felt like he should apologize to Izaya, knowing he probably scared the other boy.

"What time is it?" He asked, sitting up straighter. The room was fairly dim, late afternoon sun struggling to brighten the room past the curtains. 'Good, if it's still light then I haven't been out for too long…'

"I'd say around 30 minutes." Shinra says. "How are you feeling? What made you collapse on the field? I can't be sure but it looked like a panic attack!"

"...You don't have to be so damn cheerful about it." He says, ignoring Shinra's laugh.

"Oh c'mon. You can tell me, I'm planning to be a doctor you know." Shizuo, however, keeps quiet. What happened makes no sense, and he's not sure where he would even start if he were to explain. Not that he will. Still, he thinks about Izaya and telling him to fight. What did he mean fight? Was it a dream? Was he back, for a few moments, in his own world? He's not sure.

"Where's Izaya?" He asks Shinra, suddenly needing to see his friend/enemy. Shinra gives him a rather sheepish smile, glancing down at the floor. Shizuo follows his gaze to find Izaya unconscious on the floor.

"Fuck…!" Shizuo gasps, half shoving half falling out of the bed onto his knees beside Izaya. He pulls him into his lap, shaking the unresponsive teen to no avail. Izaya is out cold, no response even when Shizuo lightly slaps his cheek and yells his name.

"What the **fuck** did you do?" He snarls, turning on Shinra. He would upset at being worried for his longtime enemy, but anger is overtaking him too much to care about the little things. Shinra laughs, bringing his hands up defensively.

"He wouldn't let me in so…" He trails off, slowly pulling a syringe out of his pants pocket. It's empty. Shizuo growls, hand shooting out to grab a nearby textbook. He throws it hard at Shinra, the book smacking the future doctor hard in the face. The force of his throw throws Shinra off the bed, and Shizuo is suddenly glad that Izaya isn't awake to see it.

"What did you give him, bastard!?" He yells. It takes a moment, but Shinra struggles up to his feet, nose dripping blood onto the floor. He smiles, nervous, and backs towards the door quickly.

"Now Shizuo, patience is virtue.."

"WHAT DID YOU GIVE HIM!?" Shizuo roars, on his feet now and holding Izaya bridal style. There's no embarrassed yell from Izaya, no insults or fists, just limp silence and it makes Shizuo sick to think about all the things that could mean.

"Just a sedative! He tried to knife me when I came to see what happened, I had no choice okay?" He says quickly, and he's out the door, running like his life depends on it. Which is good, because it does.


	11. Wtf Benzodiazepine

'He's dead!' Shizuo grits his teeth, seething. 'He's so fucking dead!' Shizuo quickly pushes himself up from where he's still crouched on the floor. He's careful to keep his hold on Izaya gentle, trying not to, for once, crush the flea.

It wasn't at all hard to chase Shinra, even holding Izaya in his arms. Sure, Shinra mighy be light and quick, slippers slapping against the smooth floors of the school, but Shizuo is strong and uses that to push himself forward. Shizuo has nearly caught up to the cruel teen, nearing the still open school gate when black shadows curl tightly around his arms and hold him back. He barely keeps his hold on Izaya with the jerk from his body at the sudden stop.

"Celty!" Shinra gasps, flinging himself at her in a hug. She reacts as expected, punching the overly affectionate teen in the stomach with a flustered swirl of shadows. Celty strides up to Shizuo, holding out her PDA for him to read.

[Is that boy okay? Why are you chasing Shinra?] Her shadows release him now, though Shinra lurches forward to stand in front of her when they do. He holds his arms out as if that could at all stop Shizuo if he were free and wanting to attack Celty. Shizuo simply readjusts his hold on Izaya.

"He's dangerous Celty!" The boy exclaims and Shizuo grits his teeth. "I'll protect you my love!"

'Well, at least his creepy devotion is still the same...'

" **I'M** dangerous? You fucking drugged Izaya!" Shizuo yells, voice rough on a growl, and Celty jumps at that, shoving her PDA in Shinra's face angrily. From where he stands, Shizuo can just barely see the text.

[I told you to stop doing that! What did you give that boy!? FIX IT!]

"It shouldn't hurt him!" Shinra says, holding his hands up in an ill fated gesture of peace. "It's just Benzodiazepine Flunitrazepam mixed with Ambien." He tells them, sighing like everyone's reaction was silly.

"Benzi-Benzoodiac pine, flu zazapam? And Ab-ambien?" Shizuo repeats poorly. "What the fuck is that?"

"Benzodiazepine Flunitrazepam and Ambien." Shinra repeats carefully. Shizuo can hear the older version laughing in his head. "I roofied him, but not. Because I used a syringe. And it's more a mix you of things I use for quick but breif results. He should wake up soon but he might be sorta out if it…" The teen explains for them.

[Why did you do that? That's dangerous!] Celty types, and Shinra gives her a sheepish smile.

"He was in the way…"

[The way of what!? I swear...] She turns to Shizuo now. [I'm very sorry about this. Do you know his address? I can take him home.]

"That's okay… I'll see to him when he wakes up." He answers, not quite trusting her yet. 'If Kadota, Shinra, and Izaya are this different, why wouldn't Celty be too? Maybe she eats people and this was some kind of scam Shinra and she came up with? Okay, probably not, but I'm not taking the risk.'

"Ah, can I see your phone thing?" Shizuo asks, getting an idea. A voice suspiciously like Izaya's coos, "Ooh, starting to think are we, Shizu-chan?" But Shizuo does his best to ignore it.

Celty tips her helmet to the side, confused, but hands it over anyway. Shizuo types in [Please meet me Saturday at Russia Sushi] He has a feeling it's still here. He hopes so, anyway. [Don't bring Shinra.] He finishes, and carefully hands it back to her. She gives a subtle nod, before hopping on her bike and riding away.

"Awe Celty wait for meeee!" Shinra yells, but she's already down the street and out of site, disappearing between two cars. Shizuo carefully lays Izaya down while Shinra is distracted, string after Celty. "Che! This is all your fault Heiwajima. Now Celty is mad at me-hey! Put me down!"

"You're gonna pay for doing that." Shizuo growls. He can feel the violent smile curling over his face, rage flushing through his veins now thay he isn't distracted. Shinra struggles, of course, scratching frantically at the hand holding him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Stop, stop, you're stretching out my shirt!" When Shizuo shakes him, he falls limp and cranes his head up to shoot Shizuo a pleading look. "C-c'mon... You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses would you?" He asks pathetically. Shizuo just grins wider and raises a tight fist, but unfortunately is interrupted from sweet revenge when he notices Izaya sitting up, groaning and rubbing his temples. Shizuo is distracted enough that he drops Shinra who quickly runs off in the direction Celty went.

"Ah, Shizu-chan. You're okay." Izaya says, looking surprised. "Wait, why are we out here?"

"I was chasing that idiot around. He fucking drugged you."

"Right. I remember. Did he do anything to you?" Izaya asks, frowning.

"Not that I know of..." Shizuo says uncertainly, but he can't be sure. Really he wouldn't feel it much if Shinra cut into him or injected HIM with anything. 'Oh well.'

"You don't know?" Izaya asks disbelievingly.

"Well, I mean. He didn't. Who cares, you feeling okay?"

"Did you carry me?" Izaya asks, ignoring his question.

"...kinda."

"Ugh. Seriously." Izaya sighs, standing shakily. He turns back towards the school, briskly walking back inside.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Shizuo exclaims, following Izaya inside. When the red eyed teen doesn't respond, Shizuo shoots a hand out to grab his arm. Izaya, as expected, glares and tries to tug his appendage back, eyes flaring with irritation.

"Let go." Izaya demands.

"Just tell me where you're going, I can't have you running off!"

"Huh? Shizu-chan is that desperate to have me in his sights?" Izaya asks, suddenly looking embarrassed.

"No…" Shizuo says, feeling kind of creeped out by the sudden change. "I just meant I can't leave you alone."

"Shizu-chan!" Izaya gasps. "You're so stupid..." He mumbles, cheeks tinting pink. '...what the fuck.'

"Do you have a fever or something?" Shizuo asks, peering closer at Izaya's quickly reddening face.

"N-no! Shut up!" Izaya snaps, pulling his arm free. He stumbles when Shizuo's hold is gone, weight lurching forward unexpectedly. Shizuo is surprised at how quickly he himself reacts, shooting his arm out to wrap snugly around Izaya's waist and haul him back up before his face hits the ground.

"Be more careful." Shizuo sighs, turning Izaya around in his arms and to keep the other boy steady. Izaya is flushed now, shoving at Shizuo's shoulders angrily. He's starting to piss Shizuo off, and the events of the day have not helped Shizuo in a calm state of mind either.

"Let go!" Izaya yells, shoving harder at Shizuo. "Stupid! Idiot! Moron! Protozo-ack!" Izaya is cut off as Shizuo growls, instinct flaring up hard at the familiar taunt.

Shizuo slams Izaya into the wall, grabbing his wrists and pinning them back. He's seeing red for a moment, for just one second he's his old snarling self, before Izaya's startled gasps register's in his muddled brain. It takes him a moment to realize what he's done, fear of the possibilities making his entire body cold. He doesn't look up at Izaya.

'Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!' He can't think properly, worried suddenly he's hurt his friend and exposed his strength. Shizuo isn't sure why he's so scared of hurting Izaya, he just is. But there are no pained whimpers, no screams, and Shizuo gathers up his courage, expecting the worst. When he glances up however, he's relieved to see no dents in the wall or signs of red, swelling wrists or pained eyes. Izaya just stares back at him, surprised and embarrassed. Probably at the close proximity, and even Shizuo feels, let's say "on edge" from it.

"Ah...I'm sor-" Shizuo starts, but stops when he notices how wide Izaya's pupils are, black with a thin ring of red and only highlighted by the red flush over his cheeks. 'Seriously this Izaya is so girly... It's fucking weird. Other than that though, he's mostly himself. I guess.'

'Wait, don't drugged people have wide pupils?'

He's staring very intently, Shizuo's grip on Izaya's wrists tightening slightly.

'Or is that people with concussions?'

Shizuo leans closer, and their faces are so close he can feel Izaya's soft and startled exhale against his own lips.

'Could be fear? Shit is he afraid? Fuck I don't think that's right either. What does that mean!?' It's right there on the tip of his minds tongue, he knows it is!

Shizuo tilts head head, trying to figure it out, and Izaya finally snaps.

"Get off you big stupid idiot!" Izaya yells, ripping his right hand free to punch Shizuo hard. "Pervert! Stupid! **I** **diot**!"

"What the fuck did I do!?" Shizuo demands, glaring from his spot on the floor. Honestly his cheek actually stings for once, but it feels more like someone had pinched it really hard rather than punched it.

"You-! You know what you did, stupid!"

"How am I stupid?!"

"Cause you are! You're stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Why are you so mad?!" Shizuo yells, but Izaya just crosses his arms with a huff.

"H-hmmph! Go die, Shizu-chan."

"What the fuck is wrong with you."

"Die!"

"...seriously what the fuck is wrong with you?" But Izaya doesn't respond this time, storming into a classroom. As Shizuo's finally starting to pick himself up Izaya storms back out with his things in hand. Shizuo moves to follow when Izaya snaps, "Your things are in the classroom." Izaya stalks off, reminding Shizuo of an angry panther, leaving his prey alone, confused, and pissed as hell.


	12. Wtf programming

Honestly, Shizuo didn't know what to do. Nothing makes sense at this point. Ever since he woke up this morning, things have been twitching in the background like they had yesterday. Objects in his home, when he goes to grab them, slip through his fingers like he's a ghost.

Kasuka won't say much to him, his dad is ignoring him and his mom forgot to make him a bento before sending him to school. People glare at him when he walks by, assholes come to challenge him on the street on the way to school. Girls huff at him, boys glare, teachers sigh like everything is his fault. Shizuo thinks it's because he's realized he doesn't belong here.

He thinks it's because he knows this isn't real. This false universe is getting twisted and mean, compared to his first overly long day of just minor annoyances, and Shizuo just doesn't know what to do. What's the point of this? Why is he here.  
Thinking back to his dream, or his...vision? Whatever, thinking back he'd heard Shinra's voice talking about Izaya messing with something….

Controls, Shizu-chan. There's that voice, Izaya's voice. He knows that's just in his head, just his own conscious trying to comfort him in the form of his enemy. He's welcomes this small break of his own madness instead of a fucked up symptom of this hell he's in.

'Right, controls. Controls. What does that mean? What controls?'

Generally controls are machine parts that allow a human to CONTROL a device, Shizu-chan. Hence calling them controls.

'Smart ass. Okay, so that means Izaya messed with something that's controlling me. And Shinra was upset by that. Okay.

'Okay so what the fuck is controlling me?'

… Sorry, you have to figure that one out on your own.

'You can't just tell me?'

I only know as much as you, Shizu-chan. THINK, beast, why would you be in this hell in the first place? Where were you before you woke up monday?

'...Shinra's. I was at Shinra's.'

Why were you at Shinra's?

'He asked me to come over.'

Why?

'He wanted to talk to me. I'd been upset the last few weeks and he wanted to do some sort of therapy. Actually, I'd been upset with YOU, flea.'

Why?

'You weren't in Ikebukuro. You'd been gone for two weeks and I knew you were up to something!'

Why?

"Shizu-chan?"

'Because you're always up to something. And I have to stop you.'

Why?

"Shizu-chaaan? Hello?"

'Because. Because I have to know what you're up to!'

WHY?

"Shizu-chan! Why are you on the floor?"

'Because it drives me crazy when I don't see you!'

WHY?

"Shizu-chan, stop ignoring me! I'm the one who should be mad, so stop igno-"

WHY SHIZU-CHAN?

'Stop it!'

"Shizu-chan, stop ignoring me! I'm the one who should be mad, so say something already-"

TELL ME!

"SHUT UP! Shut up, shut up, just shut the fuck up!" Shizuo yells, gripping his hair and curling up tighter. His heart is racing, is vision is red, he can't fucking think. Rage is making his chest cave in, too tight and he can't breathe, not with Izaya's voice tormenting him with something he doesn't want to face.

There's someone in front of him. They're standing, no, looming and yelling.

"What the hell? That's so mean!" Izaya yells and Shizuo's head snaps up to glare fiercely into red eyes. Izaya takes a step back, startled. "S-Shizu-chan?"

"I told you to shut the fuck up you fucking pest!" Shizuo roars, lashing out at Izaya blindly. The other boy dodges, and some part of Shizuo is relieved but the rest of him isn't thinking. Shizuo's fist plunges through a wall, and the students on the other side scream. It's the science lab, and he sees Shinra briefly through the hole before he's turning away to find his target.

Izaya gasps somewhere to his left, and Shizuo turns towards the sound, fists lashing out through the dark bloody red of his vision. He hits a body, sends it flying through a window and he himself follows, unable to stop the force of his body fro barreling through after Izaya. Luckily they're only on the second floor, and Izaya rolls as soon as he hits the ground.

The fire alarm blares behind them, unbearably loud. Students are rushing through the doors a ways away, too focused on escaping unknown danger to notice Shizuo advancing on Izaya.

Stop this.

'You're dead.'

"Shizu-chan, what are you doing?" The teen Izaya asks, scrambling back. His foot is twisted at an odd angle, broken and it brings sick satisfaction. Shizuo lunges again, grabbing the ankle of Izaya's broken foot and in his rage he just fucking loves the cry of pain that brings. He yanks Izaya towards him..

"No! Let go, that hurts!" Izaya wails, kicking at Shizuo with his unharmed leg.

"It's supposed to hurt!"

"No!"

Shizu-chan stop this!

Shizuo pulls harder, pulling Izaya underneath him so he can't escape no matter how hard he claws at the ground. Shizuo's hand wraps around a slim throat, he can feel Izaya's pulse hammering hard against his palm. Izaya is scratching, clawing at his fingers desperately.

"Kadota isn't here to protect you now, is he?!" Shizuo taunts, but freezes at the sound of a sob. Red eyes are wet, welling and spilling over with tears as a terrified teen cries beneath him.

"Stop it" He demands, frowning hard at Izaya. Izaya doesn't reply, jerking hard in his grasp and still fighting to get away through the sobs that wrack his body.

"Stop it! Izaya doesn't cry!" Shizuo hisses. The boy's eye's widen, more tears spilling. Shizuo lets go of Izaya's throat, falling back on his ass with a frustrated yell. "Izaya doesn't cry! He'd taunt me to the end!"

"But isn't this more satisfying?"

"...Shinra?" Shizuo asks. It's hard to force the question out, his throat is too tight to speak properly. Shinra walks out to where Shizuo can see him, and gestured at Izaya who hasn't moved. He's stopped crying, instead just laying face down against the grass now.

"Is he dead?" Shizuo chokes out.

"Not yet." Answered by Shinra with a smile.

"Yet?"

"You have to kill him. It will end when you do." Shinra says, sighing like that should be obvious. "Haven't you realized that yet? How everything has been deliberately annoying? This was designed so you could achieve your biggest goal. Killing Izaya."

"What?!" Shizuo chokes, feeling sick.

"Yes! It's been three days and you haven't used the restroom, no one likes you for but for no real reason, multiple events have started but changed course out of nowhere- It's just been to make you mad. You should have snapped like planned but, you haven't." Shinra states, smiling at him. Izaya does nothing.

"WHY?!" Shizuo yells, and Shinra just laughs.

"A kind of therapy I wanted to test on you. Well, I say I but this is just a recorded program. Anyway, I was hoping to let this simulation allow you to kill Orihara-kun and relieve some stress. See how you felt after you did it. It's the only way to end this."

"Can't you just turn it off?" Shizuo begs.

"No. For one, no one knows what's happening in the simulation but you. It's been set up to end when you eliminate Character A, which is Izaya."

"But-but what about the controls…? I...I woke up didn't I? I heard you yell at the flea for messing with controls!"

"It could have hurt you."

"But if there are controls then you can end this!"

"No, I can't. You have to kill Izaya, and then you'll be released."

"But you're talking to me…"

"I'm not. Words were pre-recorded, events were set up, and the rest was up to your mind."

"I can't kill him."

"You have to."

"Kill me." Izaya's emotionless voice pipes up, muffled against the grass. "Kill me, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo picks up a rock lying nearby. Programmed nearby. He's shaking as he walks to the limp body.

'Do this and you go home.' He thinks, trying to reassure himself.

He steadies himself, crouching over Izaya. His eyes feel wet, his arms are shaking from holding the heavy rock up when he's feeling, for once, so weak.

'It's not real. It's okay.'

You know what this means, right?

"Yes." He whispers, and drives the rock down with as much force as his shaking arms can. It works the first time, rock driving straight through Izaya's head. Blood and skull and brain splatters because of course Shinra would make it bloody and awful. The body is already fading; everything is fading away actually. He can hear beeping, far away but getting closer.

'I love you.'

'See you soon, Shizuo.

Someone's blurry form is over him now, and Shizuo realizes that finally, finally he is awake.


	13. Wtf Izaya

"Izaya…?" He asks. The light above is blinding, his vision is blurry on top of that, and this horrible headache he has makes it impossible to focus on the person above him.

"Haha, nope!" Shinra chirps, and Shizuo groans. He throws an arm over his stinging eyes.

"Aww," Shinra starts. "Disappointed? I figured, did you want the simulation to last longer? Sorry, back to reality! How are you feeling? Headache? Nausea?" He asks, pushing up his glasses. Shizuo says nothing, just lays there.

"Shizuo-kun? How are you feeling?" Shinra asks again, his voice calm and professional the way it always is when he's in doctor mode. 'Betrayed.' Shizuo thinks. 'I feel betrayed.'

"I'm feeling very murderous."

"Is...is that so? Then the simulation made you realize you really would be happy if Orihara-kun died?"

"Go to hell." He snaps, teeth grit. He sits up, eyes squinting in the too bright room. Its just Shinra and him, and the doctor is frowning at him like he's a puzzle.

"I'm afraid I don't know why you're angry."

"You put me in a fucking," he waves a hand at the big black machine. "Thing! I fucking killed the flea!" He snaps, throat goes tight. "I killed him."

"Shizuo... Orihara-kun is very much alive, you know it was a simulation."

"But I didn't-I didn't when I was in there! Not till the end! Three days... Nothing made sense! What the hell kind of simulation was that?! I kept getting set up for these stupid things and the world started falling apart and everyone fuckinghated me-"

"Breathe, Shizuo. My apologies... I didn't think it would affect you so much." Shinra looks worried. He looks guilty, like he didn't expect putting his friend in a fucked up reality and drugging him so much he didn't even remember going into the false reality or know he was in one.

"You son of a bitch..." Shizuo snarls at him, standing shakily from the hospital bed he's been laying on.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what all would happen, but I thought that, maybe, if you killed him you'd..." Shinra stops himself, frowning hard at the ground.

"That I'd what? Be happy? Be sad? Realize we have a lot in common and should go play as best buddies?"

"I don't know. That was the point of the experiment."

"Do you even know what fucking happened!?" Shizuo questions, amber eyes burning. He was back but honestly it was like waking up from a bad dream to find you've gone to hell. Out of the frying pan into the fire, or some bullshit like that. "I was trapped for thee fucking days-"

"Two weeks."

"..what?"

"Two weeks. You were under for two weeks. Honestly you were only supposed to be in for a few hours, maybe a day. How did you hold out from killing him for so long? You knew what you had to do-"

"NO I FUCKING DIDN'T! I DON'T REMEMBER EVER BEING HOOKED UP OR ANYTHING!" He yells, rage and other emotions he doesn't want to confront burning him and making him sick.

"No one fucking told me what to do! I just woke up in that hell!" His voice is louder now, escalating as he reaches back to rip out a chunk of machine. It's thrown at Shinra, who's too startled to move, but dissolves into shadows before it ever reaches the crazy doctor. "Everyone hated me!" Another shadowy peice gone. "YOU hated me!" Wires dissolving into black smoke. "The only one who was nice to me there was Izaya and I had to kill him!" Smash-the machine is rubble now, Celty's shadows fading from the metal foundation.

"He was nice! He talked to me, joked with me, TRUSTED me! And I bashed his head in with a rock all because you decided to ruin my life and I-I just." Deep breaths.

"I don't want him gone. You think I want free stress relief gone? Think I want exciting chases gone? You think I want to start my days knowing everyone is afraid of me and that no one will ever be there to challenge me? That when I walk in the street I won't find red eyes and taunts every again?" He asks to a deathly silent room.

"If you think I want to live my life without the only person who makes me feel alive then you're even stupider than I thought." Shizuo says. Shinra's eyes are wide, face pale and he looks like he might be sick but Shizuo doesn't care. He has someone to see.

"Wai-!" Shinra gasps behind him. "Wait, Shizuo! Those readings, they were real!?"

"Hah?" He keeps walking, Shinra following him out of the apartment.

"The machine! It kept showing random signs signs of happiness and excitement between the anger and depression! And between the happiness and excitement, just briefly, just for a second, I swore I'd see hints of affection! Really I just put in a meter for that as a joke but don't tell me, towards Izaya you fell-"

"Be quiet. That wasn't Izaya." Shizuo snapped, shivering. It's a warm summer night, but he feels chilly. He doesn't think long on it, too focused on his goal.

"But you LITERALLY just confessed Shizuo-kun!"

"Towards the real Izaya, yes." They were nearing the train station, and all kinds of people were giving Shizuo odd looks. "The weirdo you programmed was a good kid, why the fuck did you want me to kill him?"

"Really? I programmed that character to be loud and easily spooked. I figured that would be the most annoying and the easiest to get rid of. Really, the rest was up to your mind. Just how did you view him, Shizuo-kun?" There's a teasing edge to his voice, but at Shizuo's silence he continues. "You know, I know very little about what happened to you! The programs were very basic, with a few specific events planned. The drugs and your imagination did most of the work."

"Arg, shut the fuck up! I don't care!" He snaps. "I'm busy so go fuck yourself." He's still mad, of course, and he has been more than reasonable.

"Fine. But I'll need you to come in soon for a check up, I can't believe you destroyed my machine-" he's cut off as the bullet train doors slide closed.

People are whispering, pointing the entire way but a few growls easily shut them up. Shizuo figures it's because he's been gone for awhile. 'Two fucking weeks.' He's gonna be bitter about this for awhile, he can tell.

It doesn't taken long to get to Shinjuku, twenty minutes tops. He spends the time thinking about what to say. It's stupid he knows, what's he even going to say? "I realized I've been in love with you for an unspecified amount of time and didn't let myself realize it until I was trapped in a reality where only a nice version of you was nice to me but I had to kill you leading to some mental scarring and now I need therapy?"

'Nah, too wordy.'

"I've secretly wanted to fuck your mouth for years, please let me?"

'No, to o vulgar...'

 **"Now arriving at Shinjuku Station. Door will be opening momentarily, please watch your step and have a great day."**

He steps out. He swears people are taking picture but he doesn't care at that point, he's so close. He's also glad Izaya's apartment is so close to the station.

He can't think of what to say going in the building.

He can't think of what to do riding in the elevator.

He can't think of how to knock at the door.

Luckily though, he doesn't have to. The door opens before he can bring his hand up to knock, Izaya stepping out in his usual attire. He stops in the doorway, staring at Shizuo.

It's alarming. Seeing Izaya as he was four weeks ago. Part of Shizuo was expecting a bright eyed teenager. A small part of him was ready for that loud cry of "Shizu-chan~!" Instead he's met with silence and distance when Izaya immediately backs up a few steps upon seeing him.

His heart is pounding in his ears, his fists clenched, mind reeling. It's Izaya. He's standing before Izaya and now he has to say what he came here to say. He has to tell him how important he is and change a decade of hate. He has to let Izaya know how-

"Good lord, was it your ass I've been seeing all over the dollars website?" Izaya asks rather bluntly, gesturing to the thin hospital gown Shizuo was wearing all the way from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku. It's true, the gown is open in the back, tied loosely and not hiding anything. 'No wonder I was chilly...'

"FUCKING HELL!" He yells, shoving his arms back to pull his gown closed. "Fuck! No wonder people were taking fucking pictures, damn it! I'll kill Shinra!" Izaya bursts out laughing, doubling over with the force of it.

"Damn it! Stop laughing flea!"

"I can't, this is too good!" He gasps, and it makes Shizuo smile. He's fucking happy to see Izaya joyful, even if it's at his expense.

"Flea, now listen... I, um, I don't know if you know where I've been but-"

"Ah yes. Killing me, weren't you?" Izaya asks, leaning against his doorframe. "Shinra told me. Couldn't handle the constant failure so you turned to a game, hmm?"

"You... Listen, you were gone for two weeks and I was getting worked up. Figured you were up to something. Hell, you probably were and I just haven't found out. And Shinra had asked me over and-"

"Yes, yes, I know. Well, how was it? Did you enjoy it? You clearly just woke up, ne? You must be here to do it for real." He's cold, so cold, red eyes frosty and tone chilled with contempt.

"I'm not."

"Then why are you here? I'm busy Shizu-chan."

"I just...that is... It was hell, being in that simulation thing. Nothing made sense, I had weird visions, fuck I'm pretty sure someone kissed me at one point-"

"Do I look like I care? Get to the point, monster. Being around you and your bare ass this long is so annoying it actually hurts." Izaya snaps. It triggers something in Shizuo, his chest physically aching in respond to Izaya's words.

"No! Let go, that hurts!"

"It's supposed to hurt!"

"No!"

"Izaya... Do you hate me?" He asks, realising something. It seems all he's been doing lately was realizing depressing things. Finding out nothing is as it seems and it fucking hurts.

"Obviously." No hesitation. No insincerity.

'Of course. I might have realized it, but that doesn't mean Izaya has. Hell, he's probably always hated me. He probably always will.' He thinks. 'I'm such a fool.'

"I see. That's good." His words are hallow to his own ears. Izaya just raises an eyebrow at him, folding his arms.

"Is that what you're here for? To confirm something that you've known for 6 years?"

"8 years flea, you're not 21." Izaya just rolls his eyes at that, huffing.

"Look Shizu-chan. We can battle if you really want but I'm not doing it in my apartment and I doubt you want even more people staring at your ass. Unless Shizu-chan is into that sort of thing."

"No. I just wanted to say that," He says, voice steady as possible

'I love you.'

"I hate you and now that I'm back, if you step foot in 'Bukuro after tonight then I'll kill you. Got it?"

"Of course, Shizu-chan." Izaya sighs, obviously not intending to do what he says at all. Izaya moves back, closing the door in his face. Shizuo numbly reaches for his phone, until he realizes he doesn't have a pockets.

"I texted Celty to come pick you up. She's bringing pants." Izaya's voice comes through the door. Shizuo doesn't thank him, he can't say anything or his voice is going to crack and he won't give himself away now.

He barely blinks as he goes down the elevator. Doesn't look at anything but the floor as he walks outside and sits on the curb. Doesn't twitch when some asshole makes a jab about his hospital gown. He sits and waits for Celty, and ignores the heavy weight if numbness where his heart was five minutes ago.


End file.
